Shares in SciSys, the specialist IT group, soared this week after it said its half-year financial results are likely to be “significantly” better than expected.
The Chippenham-based group, which sells complex software systems to the space, defence, media and government sectors, said a favourable trading picture this year had resulted in strong cashflows, transforming a £1m net debt at the start of 2016 into £1.4m net cash at June 30.
Its order book had remained strong and well ahead of the equivalent position in June 2015, and was underpinned by a “sizeable” pipeline of prospective new business opportunities.
The upbeat trading update, which came ahead of the group’s interim results on September 22, triggered a near 9% rise in SciSys’ share price in early trading on Tuesday when the statement was issued, taking it to a 14-month high of 91.5p. The shares fell back later to close at 88p, up 4p or 4.76% on the day.
But it has since bounced back with a raft of contract wins including deals worth more than £3.5m by its Media & Broadcast division while its Space division secured work worth more than £3.2m, mainly from existing programmes such as the European satellite-navigation system Galileo and the European Space Agency’s Exomars rover mission to Mars.
SciSys, which conducts around half its business in euros, also said today that it did not expect any adverse consequences as a result of June’s EU referendum outcome.
It has taken a £500,000 first-half charge due to a revaluation of its currency hedging position at the end of June shortly after the collapse of the pound against the euro as a result of the Brexit vote.
However, if the euro-sterling exchange rate stays around its current level for the rest of 2016, the charge will not impact on its full-year results, it said.
SciSys employs nearly 450 staff across its offices in Chippenham, Bristol, Leicester and Reading and two in Germany.
